Hand to the Plow / And Be Thankful / Psalm 100
November 23, 2016 by prayerlogue
A Thanksgiving Devotional
Psalm 100
A Psalm for Thanksgiving.
1: Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
2: Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
3: Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4: Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5: For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. (NASB)
It’s amazing how things stick with you from your childhood. When I think of Thanksgiving, I always think of Psalm 100. When I was in the 2nd grade, we had to memorize Psalm 100 for a PTA program. So, I always equate the two.
This Psalm is a “feel good” Psalm. We read it and we “feel good”. But, when we examine it – when we meditate on it, it has so much more to say.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a very “logically minded” person – I want to know how things work, and why they are done. When my Mother wrote out her recipes for chicken ‘n dumplins and stack cake, I not only wanted the ingredients for the dish – I wanted to know why things were done the way they were. I’m the same way with scripture – it’s not enough for me to know that things are done; or how they’re done – I want to know why! This Psalm not only teaches us to give thanks – but how – and why.
The Psalm is divided into 2 sections: verses 1-3 and verses 4-5. In the first section we must come before the Lord. Verses 1-3a tell us how.
- Verse 1: First of all we must “shout” (or “Make a joyful noise” as the KJV puts it.)
- Who is to do this? “All the earth” (or “All ye lands.” KJV)
Everyone and every bit of creation is to (verse 2a):
How?
Everyone and every bit of creation is to (verse 2b):
How?
Everyone and every bit of creation is to (verse 3a):
- “Know” – acknowledge – “that The Lord, He is God;”
Why do these things? Because He is our Creator (verse 3b):
- “It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;”
And (verse 3c):
- “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
So what does that really mean?
First – He is God (verse 3a)
Second – He is creator (verse 3b)
Third – He is owner (verse 3c)
Verses 4-5 tell us that not only are we to come before the Lord – but that we may; that we are allowed to come into His very presence! Again, we have what and how to do this, as well as why.
First we are to “enter His gates” – to come just inside the gate of the gardens of the palace.
How?
- “With thanksgiving,” literally, with a thank offering.
And
- We are to enter “His courts” – the actual grounds of the gardens.
How?
- “With praise!” We are to extol and praise our God as we enter.
And
- We must “Bless His name.” The Hebrew word for name is “Shem” which means a person’s character or authority – in other words – their very essence!
Think of it this way. We can come to the Palace, come through the door, come into the yard and come right up to His name – His very being! Hebrews 4:16 tells us that because Jesus (our Great High Priest) has triumphantly entered the realm of Heaven, we are allowed to not only come into the throne room, but we can come boldly! That’s not arrogantly – but with confidence – because Jesus is there!
And why are we allowed to do this? Verse 5: “For the Lord is good!” (Remember Jesus said, “There is none good but God.” Mark 10:18)
How is His goodness evidenced?
- His lovingkindness (“His mercy” KJV), His hesed is everlasting. Ever-lasting; it lasts forever, through all of eternity.
- And His faithfulness (“His truth endures” KJV) to all generations.
From the time of the Psalmist – to the time of the Saviour – to the time of the Church – to the day of His return, you can count on the Faithfulness of God.
And that is why we must thank Him!
Epilogue
Although I had most of these notes in my Bible, I actually wrote this meditation one day while sitting in the Target parking lot waiting for a dentist appointment. When I pulled out from the parking lot a song came on the radio that melted my heart. The song was, “The Wonder of it All”.
“O the wonder of it all, that God loves me…”
Tears came to my eyes along with the affirmation – “Yes! The wonder of it all, that God loves even me…”
May you have a glorious Thanksgiving!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Prayerlogue 
Hand to the Plow / And Be Thankful / Psalm 100
November 23, 2016 by prayerlogue
A Thanksgiving Devotional
Psalm 100
A Psalm for Thanksgiving.
1: Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
2: Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
3: Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4: Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5: For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. (NASB)
It’s amazing how things stick with you from your childhood. When I think of Thanksgiving, I always think of Psalm 100. When I was in the 2nd grade, we had to memorize Psalm 100 for a PTA program. So, I always equate the two.
This Psalm is a “feel good” Psalm. We read it and we “feel good”. But, when we examine it – when we meditate on it, it has so much more to say.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a very “logically minded” person – I want to know how things work, and why they are done. When my Mother wrote out her recipes for chicken ‘n dumplins and stack cake, I not only wanted the ingredients for the dish – I wanted to know why things were done the way they were. I’m the same way with scripture – it’s not enough for me to know that things are done; or how they’re done – I want to know why! This Psalm not only teaches us to give thanks – but how – and why.
The Psalm is divided into 2 sections: verses 1-3 and verses 4-5. In the first section we must come before the Lord. Verses 1-3a tell us how.
Everyone and every bit of creation is to (verse 2a):
How?
Everyone and every bit of creation is to (verse 2b):
How?
Everyone and every bit of creation is to (verse 3a):
Why do these things? Because He is our Creator (verse 3b):
And (verse 3c):
So what does that really mean?
First – He is God (verse 3a)
Second – He is creator (verse 3b)
Third – He is owner (verse 3c)
Verses 4-5 tell us that not only are we to come before the Lord – but that we may; that we are allowed to come into His very presence! Again, we have what and how to do this, as well as why.
First we are to “enter His gates” – to come just inside the gate of the gardens of the palace.
How?
And
How?
And
Think of it this way. We can come to the Palace, come through the door, come into the yard and come right up to His name – His very being! Hebrews 4:16 tells us that because Jesus (our Great High Priest) has triumphantly entered the realm of Heaven, we are allowed to not only come into the throne room, but we can come boldly! That’s not arrogantly – but with confidence – because Jesus is there!
And why are we allowed to do this? Verse 5: “For the Lord is good!” (Remember Jesus said, “There is none good but God.” Mark 10:18)
How is His goodness evidenced?
From the time of the Psalmist – to the time of the Saviour – to the time of the Church – to the day of His return, you can count on the Faithfulness of God.
And that is why we must thank Him!
Epilogue
Although I had most of these notes in my Bible, I actually wrote this meditation one day while sitting in the Target parking lot waiting for a dentist appointment. When I pulled out from the parking lot a song came on the radio that melted my heart. The song was, “The Wonder of it All”.
“O the wonder of it all, that God loves me…”
Tears came to my eyes along with the affirmation – “Yes! The wonder of it all, that God loves even me…”
May you have a glorious Thanksgiving!
Share this:
Like this:
Related
Posted in devotionals, Hand to the Plow, Praying the Psalms, Psalms Commentary/Devotional, Scripture Studies | Tagged Hand to the Plow, Psalms devotional, Thanksgiving | Leave a Comment
Comments RSS